Sunday, November 27, 2011

I started working on this little pouch several months ago. I had given up on it and started working on it again many times to the point where the little bag was starting to get on my nerves. I don't know what it was, I just didn't seem to get it right. "The legs on the bird are too long, the beak is too pointy, the branches are too crooked." Sigh. So I abandoned it in the closet for two months until I had forgotten it even existed.

After the little creation had been hybernating in my Craft Closet (honestly, there doesn't seem to be a closet in this house that wouldn't fit that description) I discovered it again and looking at it with fresh eyes I actually could not understand why I had abandoned it to begin with! It was super cute and only needed a bit of work to be finished. Few more stitches here and there, added a zipper and the lining and listed it on Etsy wednesday evening. 12 hours later it was already sold!

Lesson learnt: The pieces that annoy you the most may be best left to hybernate for a while, even a long while, as in this case re-discovering it after months gave me fresh perspective and working on the item became fun again. I don't think it would've resulted this nice if I would've just pushed through the frustration, creativity flourishes in peace and calm and suffocates under pressure and stress.

Friday, November 25, 2011

This year for the first time ever I will be taking part in the local craft association annual christmas gallery, which is both a gallery and a craft shop. The gallery is held at Galleria Alli, a picturesque old wooden house, believe it or not, located right in heart of my new home town and features artists and craftsmen of all sorts around the Kerava area.

It's all very new to me, as I only heard a few weeks ago that my application to join had been accepted (should've applied sooner for more time to prepare!) and I'm now busy planning the price tags and info-leaflets and what nots.

photo by Zirpsis, source: virtual.tourist.com

The gallery opens on the first of December and will be open until the 23rd. I was thinking of only exhibiting some of my bags, so I don't have to close the Etsy shop altogether for 4 weeks, but we'll see how that goes. If you are in the area, do drop in! I will be in the shop my self for a few shifts (all the participants take part in also working behind the counter in turns), so if you want to come say hello, drop me a message to see when will I be in :)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

It's supposed to be winter here in Finland. I guess winter is playing hard to get this year as we have not seen a sight of her yet. (I'm guessing winter is a "she", bitter and cold, yet mesmerizing in her fragile beauty.) It would seem she is keeping us on our toes in order to make a grander entrance when we least expect it!

While waiting for her to get her face on, wax her eyebrows or what ever she is doing while we anxiously wait, here's a little something to keep us in the mood for all things snowy and cold.

This little piece was, once again, knitted, felted and embroidered and features a cotton lining and a white zipper and is for sale here.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Oh my.
Just this morning I was wondering if Santa might bring me a tripod for Christmas. I have no idea how pricey they are, but I'm guessing they don't grow on trees even at the North Pole, so I was wondering how much would it set Santa back.

Several hours later I was at a flea market, not looking for anything in particular and what did I find: a tripod. For just 15€! Bargain!

I've been struggling with my photos because I don't have the steadiest of hands and daylight is getting more and more scarce, with my limited skills it's really tricky to produce decent photos. Not anymore!

I just spent an hour playing with the tripod, re-taking some of the pictures and just marveling at the device, if I would've known what a difference using one has I would've bought one ages ago. It's deadly!!

Monday, November 7, 2011

The time has not yet come for me to be selling my goods at craft fairs, but thinking ahead I've started researching them already. Meaning: I get to go to ALL the craft fairs and browse through all the wonderful goods while actively convincing myself it's all for self-educational purposes (despite the fact I'm spending my time shopping rather than studying).

For some reason I've never really been to any of these events and attending one last weekend really made me wonder why. I felt so at home at the Kätevä & Tekevä fair in my home town Lahti it was unbelievable. The feeling of belonging going through the colorful booths finally convinced me this is what I want to do in future, I want to sell more actively, take part in events like this and find my place in the crafting world.

I had planned to take time and make notes while at the show, but instead I found myself running around like a headless chicken, hopping from booth to booth full of excitement like a kid in a toy store. One particular table got me ridiculously excited and did I even try keep my act together? I most certainly did not. The wonderful Korumetsä jewelry designed and made by Anna Karppinen made me giddy (Korumetsä-site in Finnish only, but some of her jewelry can be found on this site in English also: House Of Handmade ) The colors she uses all screamed my name, so I simply had to get these earrings! Glad there's more craft fairs coming up she too will be attending, I might just start collecting these!

When I got home from the craft fair I came up with a cute idea for displaying earrings at craft shows. I had a spare key cupboard that didn't fit the space I had intended it to fill, so voilá, I turned into a jewelry box! And how much did this invention cost me? One single euro. Cheap and pretty, just like me!!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

OMG OMG OMG It's the first of November! I'm now officially allowed to give our lovely little home a winter makeover! It's a bit early for Christmas decoration yet, but I like to celebrate the dark time of year by filling our home with candles and warm shades of red, balanced with a hint of white and linen. The cold tones of turquoise and blue are packed in boxes for the next six months and I'll dig them back up again after the long long winter, but now it is time for bright red curtains and off white throw pillows.

And yes, I'm a Christmas freak. I've started making Christmas cards in October (because making Christmas cards is the only excuse to listen to the Brian Setzer christmas album in October) and will most likely start adding holiday decor way before December.. But Merry Winter to one and all at this point :D

Meanwhile, I've started making little Christmas themed treasuries already. I like it so much and was really happy to notice this morning that my "First Snow" treasury had just made it to the front page of Etsy, meaning all these gorgeous items just got a lot more visibility :)